There are two words that every digital marketer dreads hearing: Google updates. After all, in one year, Google can release up to 3, 200 updates. This is a huge number to try to keep up with, even for the most established digital marketing agency.Â
And even if you always follow Google’s guidelines to the letter, you can still suffer at the hands of others who do not see these updates as important. But what do you do when a new algorithm change is introduced and suddenly you see a drop in traffic or performance?Â
To ensure the success of your digital marketing strategy you should keep an eye on the latest Google updates. This way, you will be able to tell which update or algorithm change might be affecting your performance.Â
To find out how you can survive the latest Google algorithm changes, keep reading for some useful information.Â
Don’t Duplicate Content
As one will find on the official Google webmaster blog, focusing on content after an algorithm update is important. And what is one of the more important aspects of this is ensuring that you do not have any duplicate content on your website.Â
While it is true that Google does not penalise duplicate content, the search engine will prioritise new, fresh, and original content over it. There are millions of blogs and articles out there on the internet, and in order to make yours stand out, you need to strive for originality and uniqueness. Having duplicate content on your website can also damage your SEO efforts, so be sure to audit it after an algorithm change in order to avoid this.Â
Think About Traffic And Positions
An important step to discovering whether or not you have been penalised after an algorithm change is to check on your traffic and your position on search engine results pages. You can use online tools such as the Google Search Console to do this.Â
These tools will show you if there is a drop in your website traffic as well as if your position for your chosen keywords has become lower. Setting notifications on these tools will alert you to any position changes or drops in traffic. This way you can make any necessary changes to your site or your content in order to remedy these penalties.Â
Forget Fake News
Keeping your content free of easily-verified factual issues is one of the best (and easiest) ways to survive a Google algorithm change. Google is able to ascertain when information is fake or if there has not been any fact-checking by the writer, and this can have a significant negative impact on your website.Â
If you contribute false information to the internet, Google can penalise you and this can cause a drop in traffic and rankings. If you are not an expert in the topic of the content you are writing about, it is better to research it beforehand so you understand it than simply copying and pasting incorrect information into the piece. Always verify facts before you use them in your content.Â
 Always Audit Your Site
Performing a website audit after any Google algorithm change is the mark of an on-the-ball digital marketing agency. A website audit will show you what plugins could be causing the problems on your website, and it will also allow you to fix any issues that might occur after the change.Â
Your audit should include technical, backlinks, content, and user experience issues. For example, a technical issue that Google might have been overlooking on your website could now cause you to have lower traffic or rank lower thanks to a new update. Be sure to check all backlinks to your site with a tool so that you can remove “spammy” ones to avoid being penalised by Google, too.Â
Write For Humans First
Providing relevant, valuable content for human website users should always be part of a good digital marketing strategy. Google will soon see through content that has been written solely to rank certain keywords or only for SEO purposes. Think about the reader first instead of the search engine.Â
It’s true that this method of creating content might mean that you do not rank as highly as your competitors at first, but soon enough Google will see that your content is valuable and your ranking will improve. While it is important to use SEO tactics in your content, whatever you write should always be geared towards human consumers first, instead of search engines.Â
Always Be Prepared
Being prepared before a Google algorithm update is as important as using methods to survive one after it has been implemented. You should keep up-to-date with the updates by reading Google’s webmaster blog and use trustworthy sources for information.Â
If you are concerned about how your website will perform after an algorithm update, contact a premier digital marketing agency like NetMechanic to find out how we can help you today. Â
